Appointment of New Commissioner Of Inland Revenue and Changes To Board of Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore

1.      Dr Tan Kim Siew will succeed Mr Moses Lee as the new Commissioner of Inland Revenue and Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) of Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (“IRAS”) with effect from 2 November 2012. Dr Tan, who has been a member of the IRAS Board since 1 September 2007, will continue on the Board in his new ex-officio capacity as the Commissioner. Dr Tan is currently Permanent Secretary (Defence Development), Ministry of Defence.

2.      Mr Moses Lee, outgoing Commissioner of Inland Revenue, will relinquish his appointment and IRAS board appointment on 1 November 2012 upon completion of his term. Mr Lee has been the Commissioner and CEO of IRAS since July 2005. Under his stewardship, IRAS has made tremendous strides in better serving taxpayers in Singapore as well as in making a mark internationally. 

3.      Mr Lee’s focus on driving innovation through leveraging on information technology has enabled IRAS to achieve quantum leaps in the improvement of efficiency and taxpayer service. He has also built up IRAS’ capabilities in compliance and analytics and successfully forged a voluntarily compliant taxpayer community by helping businesses set up systems to manage their tax risks.

4.      During Mr Lee’s tenure, IRAS’ standing among international tax practitioners has grown. For example, the establishment of the Tax Academy, has made Singapore a regional hub for tax training and helped raised the professional competency of the tax industry in the region.  

5.      The Minister for Finance has also appointed Mr Niam Chiang Meng, Permanent Secretary (National Population and Talent Division) and concurrent Permanent Secretary (National Climate Change) to the IRAS Board, with effect from 1 November 2012.

6.      The Ministry of Finance and IRAS would like to place on record their deep appreciation to Mr Lee for his invaluable contributions to IRAS, and welcome Dr Tan and Mr Niam to IRAS.

7.      Brief write-ups on the new and outgoing Commissioners and new board member are attached at Annexes A (102 KB) and B (52 KB).

8.      The IRAS Board comprises nine members and the list of members is at Annex C (8 KB).

Ministry of Finance
1 October 2012